


Quest for Coffee

by Rennaren



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Coffee, College AU, EvilleCon 2019, Fanfiction 101 Panel, Gen, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 06:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18310451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rennaren/pseuds/Rennaren
Summary: When there are exams to study for, sometimes you just need a good, strong dose of coffee to help keep you awake. Unfortunately sometimes a good cup of coffee can also be hard to find.





	Quest for Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This year at EvilleCon I attended the Fanfiction 101 panel, which included a 'workshop' during which we could work on a story we'd already started, or something new. Out of a list of random prompts that were read off, I got the idea for this story based off the prompt, "I'm studying at 3am and need all your coffee."

A pounding on the door of his dorm room woke Sannan who sighed, blearily running a hand through his hair to push it out of his face before reaching for his glasses and putting them on. He had just gotten to sleep after staying up late to finish an assignment for his chemistry class, which was due tomorrow.

Just then the knocking resumed after a moment of silence, this time followed by a restrained shout. "Sannan, open up! Don't make me wake up everyone on the floor."

Sannan's brow furrowed as he recognized the voice. _Hijikata._

Getting out of bed Sannan decided that he had better see what Hijikata wanted at this hour of the morning. Opening the door sharply, just as Hijikata was preparing to knock again, he fixed the other man with an expression that while pleasantly mild on its surface still held the faintest trace of annoyance. "...Are you aware that it is three a.m. Hijikata-kun?"

As he lowered his fist Hijikata paused for a moment, as if awareness of the hour hadn't occurred to him, before shaking his head minutely and pushing onward. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Coffee?" murmured Sannan frowning slightly. _What on earth could Hijikata possibly want with coffee, when any other person would have long been asleep. …Or at least trying to sleep…_

“We ran out. I was busy and forgot to put it on the list, so Yamazaki didn’t get any when he was at the store.” huffed Hijikata looking mildly irritated, though whether at himself or the evident lack of coffee Sannan was uncertain, as Hijikata pushed past him to begin searching through the cabinets and shelves that were near the expensive looking coffee maker that was sitting on a corner of one of the room’s dressers.

“I see…” sighed Sannan as he stepped away from the door while watching Hijikata, allowing it to fall shut behind him still unlocked, as he hoped that he would soon be able to try to get back to sleep once Hijikata had left. “…But why coffee at this hour?”

“I’ve got a damn philosophy exam later and I need to study.” retorted Hijikata as he turned to look over his shoulder at Sannan, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Do you have coffee or not?” 

_…And so it was necessary to come and wake me up to get some?_ thought Sannan his lips thinning minutely as he crossed the room, reaching past Hijikata to pull a container down from one of the shelves, before setting it on the dresser with a wave of his hand he spoke. “And none of the others had any?...”

Hijikata huffed slightly, frustration coloring his expression. “Well Kondou’s too busy to be bothered with this. …Saito doesn’t have any. Though that brat Souji managed to give me the run around for fifteen minutes before telling me that, since Saito’s got the night shift at his job right now. That just leaves Heisuke, Harada, and Shinpachi. …And there’s no way in hell I want to drink anything that’s been in the idiot trio’s room for very long. So you were my last resort.” 

“…And Yukimura-chan?...” asked Sannan with a sigh as he absently massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

“Like hell I’m going to go and wake her up over it.” scowled Hijikata reaching for the container Sannan had set out. “…I can use your coffee maker too, right?” 

That was where Sannan drew the line. He actually liked his coffee machine, which was a top of the line model that could also make espressos, and like the others in their group of friends he also knew what Hijikata could do to it if left to his own devices. It was still beyond him as to how Hijikata had once managed to catch a liquid like coffee on fire while using a device with whose pre-settings he was unfamiliar. Motioning for Hijikata to sit down out of the way, Sannan set about preparing Hijikata’s coffee himself. 

“Remind me about what happened to your coffee maker?” asked Sannan a few moments later, leaning back against the dresser as he suppressed a yawn behind one hand, while waiting for the coffee to brew. 

Hijikata growled, his lips pulling back slightly from his teeth in an expression of irritation as his grip tightened on the back of the desk chair he was straddling. “…That bastard Kazama, and those bastards with him, wrecked it when they crashed the party we had last week.” snarled Hijikata flashing Sannan a look that seemed to expect that he would share in Hijikata’s outrage.

Mustering a similar level of indignation was something that Sannan found himself unable to manage, even if the people making up the group in question were from a rival school. Especially at the current hour. So he merely hummed in response, half-turning to retrieve a mug from where it was kept as the first streams of coffee began to trickle into the pot. Once the pot had filled, Sannan poured a portion of its contents into the mug before holding it out to Hijikata, watching with intense interest as Hijikata took his first sip of the brew. He felt he had been relatively successful with his experiments to increase the level of caffeine in the coffee, but was not sure that he had been as successful in enhancing the drink’s flavor as well.

Hijikata grimaced at his first taste of the coffee before looking up at Sannan, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he noticed for the first time the focus with which he was being studied. “…Sannan. …You didn’t put something in this, did you?” asked Hijikata scowling down at the liquid in the mug he was holding, which now that he was paying attention, seemed to have an unusually red tint to it.

 _Well…_ A faint, sly smile quirked Sannan’s lips as he started to open his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock at the door just before he could speak. After Hijikata shot him a look that said the subject wasn’t done, both he and Hijikata turned toward the door as Kondou’s voice came through from the other side of it.

“…Sannan-san? …Uh, Toshi, are you in there?... Can one of you let me in?” called Kondou sounding a bit uncertain, while also obviously making an effort to be quiet but still speak loudly enough to be heard through the door.

After he and Hijikata had glanced at each other for a moment Sannan went to open the door, revealing Kondou standing in the hallway wearing an uneasy expression. Behind him were clustered the remainder of their group of friends in various states of undress and wakefulness the exception being Saito, who had apparently only just returned from work and been drug along with the others as he was still wearing his uniform, and Kondou himself. Kondou’s expression relaxed as he looked past Sannan, catching sight of Hijikata who stood, crossing the room to join the others at the door.  
Hijikata’s gaze lingered on Kondou for a moment before sweeping over the assembled group his expression sliding toward a scowl. “…What are all of you doing here?” 

Kondou smiled, proudly holding up the plastic bag in his hand, which bore the logo of a 24 hour store a short distance from campus, before offering it to Hijikata. “Toshi, here. I ran out and got you some coffee.” 

His expression shifting to confusion, Hijikata took the bag from Kondou, glancing down at it for a moment before looking back up at the other man. “Thank you, but- …How did you know?” 

Kondou laughed quietly, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand. “…Well,… you were a little loud…” 

“And it doesn’t help that Kondou-san’s apartment is right next to my room.” chimed in Okita with a grin that was far more alert and provocative than it should have been, even after his earlier encounter with Hijikata.

Hijikata leveled a glare at Okita, to which the younger man responded with mock fear as he briefly hid behind Saito before reemerging a moment later, laughing. The laughter only increased the fire in Hijikata’s glare, but he blatantly ignored Okita for the time being as he reached into the bag Kondou had given him, pulling out the container of coffee. 

“…Hey, wait a minute. This is decaf coffee…” said Hijikata looking up after studying the label briefly, frowning as he added under his breath a moment later. “…Might as well be drinking tea…” 

A slightly concerned expression creased Kondou’s brow as he looked over at Hijikata. “Toshi,… you really shouldn’t be drinking something that will keep you up at this time of night. Even if it’s to study, you need to make sure to get enough sleep too.” 

As Hijikata started to open his mouth to voice a protest, Okita’s voice cut across his words, still carrying a hint of mirth in his tone. “Looks like you should have gotten Chizuru-chan to make your coffee for you instead. She’s your girlfriend after all, right?” 

“She is not my girlfriend!” shouted Hijikata red spreading across the top of his cheekbones in spite of his words, as his hands clenched into fists at his sides, leaving small dents in the plastic of the container of coffee. 

Okita pointed in Hijikata’s direction as he doubled over from the force of his laughter. “That’s not what your face says!” 

“…Sou-ji!!...” growled Hijikata, drawing out the syllables of Okita’s name, while raising the container of coffee as if preparing to throw it. 

Still laughing Okita darted away down the hall, with Hijikata in hot pursuit as he continued shouting at the younger man who shot back an occasional response, which only seemed to increase the Hijikata’s anger. 

“Ah!... Toshi! Souji!… Please try to be quiet.” called Kondou suddenly coming back to himself and starting down the hall after the pair, having stood wide-eyed for a moment with surprise, as the chase began.

With the departure of Hijikata, Kondou, and Okita, the others began to drift away back toward their own dorm rooms, finally allowing Sannan to return to bed and attempt to get at least a few hours of sleep before his first class. 

Meanwhile in her dorm room, Chizuru Yukimura’s slumber remained blissfully undisturbed.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on twitter as [ RennarenofAO3, ](https://twitter.com/RennarenofAO3)or on Tumblr also at [RennarenofAO3.](https://rennarenofao3.tumblr.com/)


End file.
